New Philips Hue Go Lamp, Tap Dial Switch and More Emerge
It has been a lot quieter than usual when it comes to Hue products, but as we rapidly approach July, a few products have finally started to emerge. As reported by the German website digitalzimmer.de, Philips Hue has a brand new Tap wireless button coming soon, that’s a total redesign of the original ‘Tap’ that was discontinued a while ago.
Unlike the case with the original model, the new Tap doesn’t EnOcean technology to generate kinetic power for sending signals via Zigbee to the Hue Bridge, now relying on batteries instead. Like its predecessor, the new model features four programmable buttons, although in this case, the buttons are equally set out, like four slices of a cake… (or Pizza). The new model can be wall-mounted and comes with a square plate that should match the size of your regular switches (for European homes only). As with practically all Hue products, this is also exposed to HomeKit, with single presses for each button exposed.
Perhaps just as surprising, is a new lamp labelled the Philips Hue Go Portable Table Lamp. The ‘Go’ part of the name is due to the lamp containing a rechargeable battery, just like the original Hue Go. In this case, the lamp carries an IP54 rating, so it’s suitable for outdoor use for certain periods of time, so outdoor dining would be a perfect use case for such a lamp. Additionally, certain animated light effects can be triggered from the built-in button. According to digitalzimmer, the price is practically double that of the original Hue Go, at around €150.
In addition to the above, Hue will also be introducing a new track lighting system named Perifo that will allow all manner of new spotlights and track lights to magnetically connect to the rail at a location of your choice. A new bathroom lighting range called Xamento (pronounced Sha-men-toe, we assume) is also due, with both ceiling and recessed lights. Finally, the Hue Signe Gradient floor lamps are being given a facelift, with oak finishes for the base of both the table and floor models.
The new Hue Tap switch is battery powered, not EnOcean technology. So it’s not using kinetic energy. More like the existing rectangular dimmer switch.
I like that it also comes in black.
My bad, I misread the original article. Updated.
I think you may have missed something here. The whole USP of the Tap Switch is that it’s actually called the Tap **Dial** Switch because as well as the four standard button, the outer edge can also be turned to act as a rotary controller, potentially allowing for use as a dimmer or a fan speed controller. This makes it much more than just a like-for-like update of the old Tap.
What I’m not clear on is how this rotary controller would work with HomeKit as existing Hue switches are exposed as sensors with just a button-press state.
The reason I avoided mentioning the dial part is that it’s not exposed to HomeKit, as dimming via wireless controllers is not supported in HomeKit. It will work with Hue bulbs, and possibly Hue lamps etc, but it won’t work with anything outside of the Hue ecosystem, and as they don’t make a fan, you won’t be able to utilise it this way.
Got it, thanks. I guess I’ll need to blow the dust off the Hue app to manage it then.
I have 2 of these. Personally I love them But I am really hoping integration with smartthings will happen.